Welfare Dept ready to offer counselling to Nora Anne's family

PUTRAJAYA: Officials from the Welfare Department are on standby to provide counselling services to the family of Nora Anne Quoirin, who was found dead after having gone missing for nearly 10 days.

Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Hannah Yeoh (pic) said she and several counsellors were at the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital on Tuesday (Aug 13) night after news broke that the remains of the 15-year-old girl had been found.

“We are prepared to offer counselling to the victim's family but we also understand their need for space to cope with the shocking news.

“Nevertheless, our counsellors are on standby should the family members require their services, ” she said after launching a special family award programme Wednesday (Aug 14).

Yeoh also called on the public to stop speculating over Nora Anne's cause of death.

“Let us wait for the postmortem results to know the actual cause, ” she said.

A search-and-rescue team found Nora Anne’s in a ravine at 1.57pm on Tuesday (Aug 13).

Her remains had to be winched up by helicopter and taken to the hospital for the postmortem.

Her body was found in a stream some 2.5km from the resort she was staying in.

The teenager disappeared from the resort she was living with her family on Aug 4. She had checked into the property with her parents Sebastian Marie Philipe and Meabh Jaseprine Quoirin and siblings Innes Julia and Maurice Arthure a day earlier.

However, she was not found in her room she shared with her siblings the following morning.

A window in the room that could only be opened from the inside was open.

The girl who is of French-Irish parentage had learning difficulties.